Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones always has a trick up his sleeve.
Last offseason, that trick was trading for George Pickens, and at last year's trade deadline, it was landing Quinnen Williams. Neither player was particularly cheap to acquire, and after both balled out last season, the price went up astronomically to keep them both in the building.
And while the Cowboys and Pickens have seemingly called off the dogs to get a multi-year extension done during the 2026 NFL season, Pickens has starred at training camp and still subtly noted that he knows his worth and wants to eventually make more money than the franchise tag he's playing on.
So, to many Cowboys fans, Williams' record-breaking extension that he signed on Monday was the final nail in the coffin for Pickens sticking around in Dallas for the long term. It was the judge banging the gavel on the bench and giving this marriage a death sentence.
But I am happy to inform you that the Williams deal isn't the Pickens death knell that you may think; it actually gives Jones and Co. an easier avenue to extending the team's star wide receiver. There is enough money to go around!
Cowboys' Quinnen Williams pact actually paves way for George Pickens extension
It may sound crazy to say that, in a league like the NFL with a strict salary cap, giving one player more money could actually free up funds for another. But such is the case for the Cowboys and the ever-confusing nature of football's financial side.
Let's break it down:
Although the exact details haven't quite been finalized yet, as Patrik Walker laid it out, Dallas could save as much as $34.7 million over the next two years by extending Williams. So, instead of paying him $21.6 million and $25.5 million in 2026 and 2027, the Cowboys can move the money around.
By adding more years to Williams' deal in this extension, they have opened up a world of opportunity for exactly how and when they pay out that money. And by doing so, they could backload it and open up more cash and salary cap space for Pickens.
With a rich, cash-heavy ownership group, too, even if they don't sell off minority stakes to people like Mark Cuban, they could pay out a lot of Williams' earnings in a signing bonus. The opportunities are endless when you take Williams' 2026 and 2027 salaries off the books in their current form.
Now, Dallas is still in quite a bit of financial trouble heading into next offseason. According to Spotrac, before this Williams deal, they were $19 million over the cap. They have to find a way to not only get below that, but then to open up space to pay Pickens what he wants and is worth.
It will surely take more salary cap gymnastics for the Cowboys to get all of this done, but Williams signing an extension was certainly a big part of that. Restructuring Dak Prescott and other vets like CeeDee Lamb, Keny Clark, DaRon Bland and Tyler Smith could also come into play.
But for now, let's just bask in the fact that Williams signing an extension doesn't necessarily mean that Dallas is further from reaching an agreement with Pickens. It's not the kiss of death; in fact, it may just be step one in a long process of getting all these great players paid and under the salary cap.
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